


Compromised

by Donovanspen



Series: Whumptober 2019 [11]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate prompt:Infection, Caring Magnus Bane, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eye infection, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Whumptober 2019, wound care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-02 20:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21167081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Donovanspen/pseuds/Donovanspen
Summary: A tiny abrasion leads to an infection in an inconvenient and worrying place for Alec.





	Compromised

Alec rubbed his eye and winced from the pain of that action. The itching and burning sensation he’d been feeling all morning had been steadily getting worse. He’d thought it was eye strain from hours of tedious paperwork, but the sticky fluid that was starting to leak from his eye suggested otherwise. He was debating on whether he needed to stop by the infirmary or if his runes would be enough. Checking the time, he decided to go with the runes. He was due to meet Jace in the ops center to check out a questionable supply shop uptown.

“Alec, man that does not look good,” Jace said as soon as he saw him.

“It’ll clear up in a minute. Let me grab my gear, and we can head out.”

“Hold up.” Jace got in front of him and took a good look at his eye. “That looks pretty bad. Can you even see?”

“It’s fine,” Alec insisted, moving off to the side to give them some privacy. He reached up to wipe at his eye again, but the slightest touch had him wincing, and he ended up just wiping the excess fluid off his cheek.

“That is not fine. You need to go to the infirmary. Go get checked out, and I’ll take Izzy.”

“No, just give it time. It’ll clear up in a bit.”

“Alec, that looks infected. Is this from yesterday’s patrol?”

“Of course not. I healed everything and washed off all the ichor,” Alec said, not impressed with Jace for asking him if he did something a first year grunt would know how to do. “It’s probably just allergies.”

“I’ve seen you with allergies, Alec, and this is not it. You took a hit to the head and landed in that nasty sewer water. If you got a cut in your eye and even a tiny drop of that water made it in, you need to get that checked out before it’s too late.”

“Fine,” Alec relented as the burning sensation was getting worse. “But check in with me whether you find anything or not.”

Alec had spent his fair share of time in the infirmary, but his dislike of the place always had to do with his frustration of being sidelined by some injury. Today, however, Alec discovered that he had a distinct aversion of anyone touching his eyes. Despite the soreness, Alec felt a level of vulnerability that went beyond his comfort zone. No matter how much he willed himself to be still, he could not stop himself from flinching away from the medic every time he tried to get a closer look at his eye. Alec’s mood wasn’t much better at the end of the examination when he was told that his eye was indeed infected.

“Looks like you have a corneal abrasion that got infected, sir. We’ll need to clean your eye and then apply some medicine with a gauze covering. It should clear up within the next few days.”

“I can’t be down for a few days. I need both eyes to shoot.” That wasn’t necessarily true, but Alec didn’t want to be benched, and he wouldn’t want to be covering anyone at limited capacity.

“I’m sorry, sir, but if we don’t properly take care of this infection, it could permanently impact your eyesight,” the medic apologized.

“I hope I’m not interrupting. Jace called me.” Magnus hesitated in the doorway.

Alec was never so happy to see his husband as he was in that moment. “Of course not. You know you’re always welcome.”

“Ooh, that does not look good,” Magnus commented, coming up next to Alec for a closer look.

“Thanks. Can you fix it?” Alec asked hopefully.

“I’m afraid not. From what I heard on my way in and what I’m seeing, this is going to need some time to heal. But I do believe I can cut down on the recovery time and some of the discomfort.”

After conferring with the medic, they decided the best course of treatment would be to start the medication, and then have Magnus take over in the evenings. Magnus helped with the cleaning as much as he could, but it was still painful to have the medic touching anywhere near his eyes. The medicine burned more than the infection and almost had Alec cursing aloud. The only thing that helped was the gauze covering his eye, allowing it to rest as well as preventing the need for Alec to try to keep the drainage under control.

“How are you feeling?” Magnus asked after dinner.

“It still throbs but at least it’s not as painful as earlier. I hate having one eye covered, though. I keep feeling like someone is going to come up in my blind spot.”

“Well, you’re safe here. It’s about time for the next treatment so why don’t you go lie down while I gather the materials?”

Alec nodded. He wasn’t ready to have his eye bothered with, but he was anxious to get this healing underway and done. Lying in their bed was so much more comfortable than the infirmary bed. He hoped Magnus’s treatment would be equally as comforting.

Magnus came into the room and set his materials on the nightstand. “You ready?”

“Mmmm.” His easy relaxed state immediately disappeared once Magnus started removing the tape and peeling back the gauze.

“Owww.” Alec tried to flinch away, but Magnus placed a restraining hand against his cheek.

“Easy now.”

Alec started blinking out of reflex, igniting a new sensation of pain after his eye had been resting for the past few hours. “Damn,” he muttered. “Why does it still hurt so much?”

“You’ve only had medicine on it for a couple of hours. It’s going to take time. Now stay still. I’m going to clean the area.”

Alec braced himself and was glad he did. Despite Magnus’s gentle approach, it still hurt like hell to have any touch or sensation near his eye. He could feel both of his eyes starting to tear up. “Magnus.”

“I know. Almost done.” Magnus finished up and then reached for the compress. “Now this should feel better. The heat from the compress will help, and the medicine is less harsh than what was used earlier. You ready?”

Alec nodded, not really convinced that it was going to be as painless as Magnus was promising. Thankfully it was. He let out a relieved sigh and felt his tense muscles begin to relax.

“Better?” Magnus asked.

“Much.” The physical discomfort was manageable now, but this recent pain episode had stoked a different worry. “Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you… can I lose my sight?” Alec voiced the question that had been bothering him since he’d left the infirmary. Magnus hesitated, and Alec’s breath caught in his throat as his mind began to think the worst.

“Without proper care, I suppose that is a possibility, but love, you know I would never allow that to happen.”

Alec turned his head so he could get a better look at Magnus. “Thank you.”

Magnus smiled and steadied the compress. “Of course.”


End file.
